Abstract
Upcoming generations of coherent intra/inter data center interconnects currently lack a clear path toward a reduction of cost and power consumption, which are the driving factors for these data links. In this work, the tradeoffs associated with a transition from coherent C-band to O-band silicon photonics are addressed and evaluated. The discussion includes the fundamental components of coherent data links, namely the optical components, fiber link and transceivers. As a major component of these links, a monolithic silicon photonic BiCMOS O-band coherent receiver is evaluated for its potential performance and compared to an analogous C-band device.
Highlights
Coherent communication is emerging in the intra data center domain to support the growth of traffic
The O- and C-band performance of all major components required for a silicon-based coherent data center interconnects (DCIs) were compared in a photonic BiCMOS platform
The deployment of O-band coherent photonics for DCIs greatly depends on a trade-off between fiber propagation loss and power savings due to reduced digital signal processing (DSP)
Summary
Coherent communication is emerging in the intra data center domain to support the growth of traffic. The continued use of C-band coherent photonics for intra/inter DCIs may seem like a natural step, as C-band coherent links are the only feasible option in long-haul communication Given their inherent susceptibility to chromatic dispersion (CD) and the disadvantages of compensating filters, an evaluation of alternative approaches is needed. There has not been a comparative study aiming to investigate the trade-offs and advantages of the use of O-band coherent photonics in comparison to C-band for data center deployment. This work pursues this topic with a detailed discussion, addressing each aspect of a coherent DCI.
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